December 3, 2024 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Empire Strykers News Release
Ontario, Calif. – The mood has been one of nervous anticipation inside Empire Strykers camp this week, with the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) side preparing to open its 2024-25 season away to defending champion, Mexico’s Chihuahua Savage, on Friday. After a campaign in which the Southern Californians put up the worst record in their history at 3-19-2 (wins-losses-overtime shootout losses), the club’s roster rebuild will be tested early against the side that defeated the Kansas City Comets in the spring to make it back-to-back league crowns.
The Empire Strykers take on host Chihuahua Savage on December 6, 2024, at 6 PM PST. The match will be streamed live in English on the MASL’s official YouTube channel (@MASLtv).
One of those who were relegated to runners-up in April is Robert “Berto” Palmer. The Jamaican, who rejoined Empire over the summer after previously spending three seasons with the organization, led the Comets into the final series against the Savage, earning MASL Defender of the Year honors in the process.
“Chihuahua has really grown as a team by having a clear idea of what they want to do and executing their plan extremely well,” Palmer said. “All of their players understand their responsibilities. As a result, the younger guys have really come into their own and have started to make names for themselves. If you want to have a chance at their venue, you have to be at your best for four quarters or more. Even when teams do well for one half, Chihuahua often comes back in the second half and wins. They’re relentless.”
If the official roster provided by the Savage is to be believed, the club may be without a couple of key performers from their 2023-24 triumph, as well as without their marquee addition on attack. Following the departure of Genoni Martinez, Chihuahua will also feature a new head coach in Edgar “Chebo” Martinez.
Inspite of it all, Palmer cautioned against thinking Empire’s first opponent might be likely to hand out any gifts on its home turf. While offering a cautiously optimistic assessment of his side’s preparedness, the 35-year-old veteran stressed the importance of Friday’s fixture at Arena Corner Sports.
“We’ve been working hard, and training has been detail-oriented and productive,” he said. “The energy is very positive right now, but most teams feel pretty good about their preseason. The real test comes when we actually take the field against…